New diagnosis

Hi Martyn.

I had RP ON 3 February this year.

I will be 72 this June, my PSA was 11 and Gleason score 11. I elected for surgery as I enjoy long distance running and understood that hormone treatment reduced bone density and put on weight. Also it would take longer before I stated RT, and the surgery should remove my cancer as it was held within my prostate gland.

the robotic surgery took about 2 hours and with the anaesthetic, no pain. I was kept in for 2 nights as I have high blood pressure and they waited for it to drop. I felt some discomfort but not what I’d describe as pain and 2 paracetamol at night were all I needed. With in a few days of being home I needed no pain killers. On day one I could walk short distances by end of first week I could walk a steady 5km with out any discomfort. After the second week I had my catheter removed and have next to no leakage but wear a pad for safety. I feel fine, avoiding lifting objects over 10 lb, enjoying walking.

• a couple of things I’ve learnt
• when they fit your first day bag get them to explain what they’re doing. Mine was fitted with the long Velcro strap on the narrow part of my leg, left just flapping around, and short on the wide part. They didn’t fit a catheter strap to stop it pulling. And the straps went over the bag tubes restricting them. Obviously an inexperienced person fitting it.
• after my catheter was removed I started passing some blood clots and was worried that the would cause a blockage. I thought of going to A&E but decided to look it up, as it was a weekend. Turns out that it’s normal as the scabs come away from the scare tissue of surgery. Mine are soft and pass with no pain, the advice is to drink plenty until the urine runs clear again. I wish I’d been told this.

 Now 3 weeks in I’m feeling fine, I feel like I could run but will avoid it until my 6 weeks are up.  Not lifting over 10lb although I feel I could. Doing small jobs around the house. Although I dislike injections I’m having no trouble giving myself the blood thinning injections each day. I’m sure that this has been the right decision for me.

Good luck and May your surgery and recovery go as well as mine

Hi Rick

thank you for all this info.  This makes me feel so much better and we see the surgeon tomorrow so right now the surgery sounds like the best option. I am very happy to here about how fast you have recovered.  I hope your recovery continues well and thank you again for taking the time.

Very similar story to Rick , similar age , psa and clinical stage . 2 days earlier , and in France . I stayed in hospital for 6 days , but the catheter was out on day 6. Did a 10k hill walk on Saturday. Dry at home , but need a pad when taking long walks . Feeling very positive. Had nerve sparing surgery , and am going to have an intrapenil injection at follow up to try to stiffen up my resolve . If it doesn’t work , I can live with that . Best wishes .

Hi

How old are you, and do you know your TNM score?

I also wondered whether you had seen an oncologist or just the surgeon? Whatever you decide, it's best to hear from both!

Hi

my TNM score is T2 and I am 56.  Good call about the oncologist as today is only the surgeon.  Thank you for pointing this out.

Hi Bill

thank you it sounds like you are recovering fast.  It’s good the catheter was out so quickly. That is one of the concerns I have as I have never had one before.  The nerve sparing surgery is very high on my list of questions for today. I can live with the consequences. Best wishes for your recovery

Having said all that, with a T2 at 56, surgery probably has the edge, but ask about the long term side effects of both before you decide, to see which you can live with best; neither are nice, but they are all 'potential', and we're all different.

69 , T2b N0M0 preoperatively .mri fusion TRUS . 2 cores of 3+3 with 2* 5mm cores of 4+3 in the target . I saw an oncologist here but wasn’t really helpful - his non operative protocol would have involved 2 months of radiotherapy and 6 months of ADT .

Only time will tell if I made the right decision . Because I was an anaesthetist ( mainly for lung cancer surgery ) , I realised that surgery is not always the most invasive option . At 69 , the chances of ED with any of the treatments are very high . I don’t know that any of us are really equipped to make this decision - it’s awful .